Scar
Scar is the main antagonist of The Lion King ''and the minor antagonist of ''The Lion King 1 1/2. He stands as one of Disney's best villains. Haughty, cultured and intelligent, he was the archetypical British lion villain and was originally voiced by Jeremy Irons, who had a history of playing film villains. He lacked power, but he suffered no shortage of pride. Consumed by a desire to be important, Scar's bitterness ran rampant in his ambition to claim Pride Rock's throne. Scar was witty, slimy, seductive, and willing to do anything to rule, even if it meant employing the evil hyenas and killing his older brother king Mufasa and exiling his nephew Simba. Scar received spot #3 in the top 30 Disney villains (one better than the Evil Queen but one place under Jafar). Information A Tale of Two Brothers Scar, who was once named Taka, who had become upset when he learned that his brother Mufasa was chosen to be king over himself. When an adolescent Taka wanders off to talk to three hyenas named Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, who tell him that if Mufasa is made to look like a failure, then he will look kingly in comparison and soon take the throne. This leads to Taka tricking his brother into going down to the waterhole, where a Cape buffalo called Boma is refusing to share the water with the rest of The Pride Lands which, at the time, is having a terrible drought. While there Mufasa starts to try to reason with Boma, and Taka roars and tells Boma that he must move by order of the Lion King, or fight Mufasa, Boma then charges out of the water at Mufasa. Mufasa escapes with the aid of a Mandrill called Rafiki, and Boma goes after Taka instead. Mufasa runs back and finds Taka being attacked by Boma's herd. A large buffalo slashes Taka with his horns, knocking him unconscious. Mufasa leaps in to save his brother and the buffaloes prepare to attack again. Before they can do so, King Ahadi father of Taka and Mufasa appears with a large herd of animals that surrounds the Buffaloes. It was during this attack that Taka got a scar on his eye, and re-named himself Scar. The Lion King Scar remained bitter and jealous of his brother but was allowed to live in the Pride Lands. He did not attend Simba's presentation, much to Mufasa's disgust. During this time, he also tried to eat a mouse, although he was ultimately forced to let the mouse escape when Zazu told him off for missing Simba's presentation, causing Scar to attempt to exact revenge on Zazu by eating him instead until Mufasa interfered, forcing him to spit Zazu out. Scar also implied when Mufasa warned him not to walk away that he might attack Mufasa should he be distracted. He also briefly lamented that he may be cast out of the gene pool anyways before leaving Pride Rock dejected. Many seasons later, with Simba now a lively cub, Scar is visited by his nephew, who is excited about being given his first tour of the Pride Lands. Scar reacts with seething anger and annoyance as Simba gleefully points out he will be king one day. Not noticing his uncle's scowl, he asks Scar what he will be once he is king, to which Scar replies, "A monkey's uncle." Simba laughs, calling his uncle weird, and Scar moves on in the conversation, taking interest in the cub's previous statement about being shown the whole kingdom. Scar guesses aloud that Mufasa hadn't show Simba what's beyond the northern border, and Simba instantly saddens, explaining that he has been forbidden to go there. Scar immediately affirms Mufasa's decision and purposefully lets it slip that the forbidden land is an Elephant Graveyard. In reaction to Simba's amazement, Scar claims that Simba would've found out eventually. He then makes Simba promise to stay away from the graveyard and pushes the cub off with a paw, knowing that the young lion's curiosity will eventually draw him there. Scar's plan to kill Simba is foiled by Mufasa when the lion comes to the cub's rescue and fights the hyenas off. Hidden in the shadows, Scar watches as his brother and cubs leaves. Later, Scar comes to the Elephant Graveyard and admonishes the hyenas for failing to kill Simba, even when it was clear that Simba only survived due to Mufasa's interference. However, he ends up getting the idea to kill Mufasa in addition to Simba when, after feeding them a Zebra's leg when Banzai sardonically asked whether Scar should kill Mufasa to get the throne. He promises that under his rule, they will never go hungry again. The following day, Scar lures Simba to the gorge and instructs him to wait on a rock for a "marvelous surprise" which Mufasa has planned. Simba is extremely curious, opting to go with Scar, but the lion abruptly refuses his request. He brings up the incident with the hyenas, making Simba a little more compliant about staying on the rock, and suggests that while he's there, he work on his roar. Scar begins to move off when Simba addresses him again, asking if he will like the surprise. The evil lion smirks, telling Simba that the surprise is "to die for." From atop the gorge's walls, he gives the signal to the hyenas, and they start up a thunderous stampede, comprised of hundreds of startled wildebeests. Scar finds Mufasa and in a staged panic, tells him about Simba being trapped in the wildebeest stampede. Both lions run to the gorge, spotting Simba clinging desperately to a weak branch. Mufasa jumps into the sea of hooves, and Scar drops his act of panic, swatting Zazu into the wall of the gorge, rendering him unconscious. The dark lion slithers across the ridges of the gorge, never taking his eyes off Mufasa's position. Mufasa manages to save his son and ends up clinging to a cliff where he spots Scar and pleads with his brother to help him. However, Scar grips Mufasa's paws with his claws, and grinning evilly, flings his brother off the cliff to his death with the mocking words, "Long live the king". Scar finds that Simba is still alive, and makes him believe that it is his fault Mufasa is dead. He manipulates him and make a terrible conscience in the cub. He then convinces Simba to run away, and never return. Trusting that his uncle just wants the best for him, Simba turns his back on him and runs in the rocks. Scar then sends the hyenas to kill Simba. They fail this task, though Shenzi felt that allowing the cub to flee into the desert would kill him eventually. Scar then took over the Pride Lands, as the only surviving male member of the royal family. He breaks the hearts of all the lionesses when he brings the news about Mufasa and Simba's "accidentally" death. As a reward for helping him, he lets the exiled hyena clan take over the Pride Lands. His dream finally comes truth and he becomes the king. However, during Scar's reign, the kingdom becomes a drought thanks to the hyenas, which cause the lionesses refuse to hunt, knowing there is no food left. Scar cannot defeat this drought because he never understood a concept of the circle of the life, so he just pretends not to realize what is happening out of his royal cave. Even the hyenas, who are probably used to going hungry for days, start complaining to Scar about the land being bare. Scar, however, picking his teeth with the bones of an animal from a previous meal presumably, tells them to get out when Banzai angers him by mentioning Mufasa, a name that has been banned by law to be spoken. Even with the hyena clan and the Pride on the brink of starvation, Scar refuses to allow anybody to leave, descending into madness and insisting that he is still a mighty king. He later questions Sarabi, Simba's mother and Mufasa's widowed queen, as to why she and the pride aren't hunting for food to which she replies there's nothing left and suggests they leave Pride Rock. However Scar rejects to the idea, in which she responds that he's sentencing everyone to death. Scar condones to the fact and declares that as king he can do whatever he wants. Just as Sarabi compares him to Mufasa, he slaps her to the ground stating he's "ten times the king Mufasa was." When Simba returns, Scar, at first anxious that Simba was Mufasa's ghost, realizes that it is his nephew and feigns joyous relief at his survival, while looking angrily at Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed for lying to him. He then forces Simba to admit that he is responsible for his father's death then forces him close to the edge of Pride Rock, Simba manages to cling for his life and Scar slams his claws into Simba's paws and quietly reveals to Simba that he had murdered Mufasa. Simba, now realizing Scar had deceived him all along, then forces Scar to admit this out loud. Thinking that they may lose their leader, the hyenas attack Simba and allows Scar escape. But Simba sees him and runs for his revenge. Simba confronts Scar on the top of Pride Rock, but Scar, knowing he is not strong enough to defeat Simba, is hesitant to fight. He tries to blame everything on the hyenas, not knowing that Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed had followed him (presumably to back him up) and heard him, resulting in them angrily backing away, and also requested that he allowed him to make it up to Simba. When Simba chooses to exile Scar rather than kill him, Scar appears to concede, but then temporarily blinds his nephew by brushing embers into his face (It's implied that Scar did this because he feared that Simba would pull something similar to what he himself pulled on Simba, due to the latter echoing what he said to Simba before setting the Hyenas on them). Scar attacks his nephew, and they fight savagely until Scar knocks Simba onto his back. As Scar leaps to deliver the final blow, Simba uses his hind legs to throw Scar over the edge, sending him flying off Pride Rock and tumbling down the cliff. Scar survives the fall and slowly gets to his feet, then the hyenas arrive. At first, Scar is relieved to see his "friends," but to his horror, they reply that according to Scar, they were the enemy and they begin to surround Scar, who is backing against the stone. Scar pleads for his life and attempts to explain his earlier statements, but the hyenas have had enough of his treachery and broken promises. The hyenas close in and surround Scar with manic smiles, then they leap on Scar and viciously maul him to death, as flames rise around them. We don't actually see the hyenas kill Scar; as they surround him the camera moves up, and we briefly see the shadows of the hyenas swarming over Scar, before the shadows are obscured by flames rising up. ''The Lion King II: Simba's Pride Despite his ultimate demise, Scar maintained the loyalty of the Outsiders, a pride of lionesses led by a lioness named Zira, who were banished to the outlands by Simba. Zira was fanatically loyal to Scar and intended to install her son Kovu as King of Pride Rock, as previously chosen by Scar to become his heir. They would continue to create trouble for Simba in the following years. Scar also appeared in Simba's dream. Mufasa clings to the high cliff above the stampede and an adult Simba tries to save his father, however Scar grabs Simba's paw stopping from reaching him and Mufasa falls off the cliff, Scar morphs into Kovu and throws Simba into the stampede. In addition, Scar was also mentioned by Simba when he explains the true history of the fight between Scar and him. He also implies during this time that, in addition to the Hyenas exacting revenge on Scar, Scar also ended up burned alive by the wildfire. Scar makes another brief appearance when Kovu is exiled from the Pride Lands by Simba, he stops by a lake where he sees Scar's reflection instead of his own as Mufasa did to Simba. In the end, Scar's dying wish would be fulfilled (Kovu becoming the king of the Pridelands) since Simba would choose Kovu to become king. However, unlike Scar's plan, Kovu ruled for the benefit of all his subjects, and not for his own sake. The Lion King 1 1/2 In this film, Scar makes a few brief, non-speaking appearances in the scenes for which he was present in the original film. Scar's song "Be Prepared" is heard briefly as Timon and Pumbaa tour Scar's lair as a possible new home, commenting on how it is quiet, secluded, and with no uninvited visitors. The shadows of the goose-stepping hyena army are then seen marching in front of them, though they haven't started singing yet. Scar is later mentioned by Nala when she tells Timon and Pumbaa that Simba needs their help. He is shown making Simba fall over Pride Rock's peak and later fleeing from Simba after admitting that he murdered Mufasa. As Scar flees, the hyenas try to protect him. Just as Timon and Pumbaa as well as Timon's family defeat the hyenas, Simba kicks Scar over the side of Pride Rock's summit, where he meets the hyenas at the base of Pride Rock. Broadway In the Broadway musical based on the original film, Scar is portrayed by a human actor in an African-style costume with a lion-face headpiece that comes down over the actor's face using a hidden remote control. Scar also uses a cane. Scar was originally portrayed in the Broadway production by John Vickery, and is currently played by Patrick Page. Dan Donohue portrays this character on the Broadway tour. Scar's role is expanded upon with the song "The Madness of King Scar." In it, Scar begins doubting his reign, fearing that he might be losing the respect of the lionesses and that he needs a queen. He attempts to seduce Nala, only to be met with a scratch to his face from an angry Nala.(This was going to be apart of the first movie, but it was canceled because of bordering on sexual harassment) ''Kingdom Hearts II Besides appearing in various The Lion King video games, Scar also appears in the Disney and Square Enix game Kingdom Hearts II as the primary villain of the Pride Lands world, voiced by James Horan. Much like in the film, Scar murders Mufasa to become king, and under his reign the Pride Lands suffers a drought and food becomes scarce. Prior to the game's main protagonists' (Sora, Donald Duck and Goofy) arrival at the Pride Lands, Pete (in the form of a lion) offers Scar use of the Heartless to maintain his hold on the throne. Sora (in the form of a lion cub, a change brought on by his magical clothes) brings Simba back to the Pride Lands so he can challenge his uncle for the throne. The confrontation between Scar and Simba that follows is almost identical to that in the original film, the only noteworthy exceptions being no hyenas for most of it and Sora and his group replacing the lionesses. Sora's group saves Timon and Pumbaa from Shenzi, Banzai and Ed, while Scar and Simba fight. As in the film, Simba eventually triumphs over his uncle. Thinking Scar to be defeated, the protagonists are surprised when, as Pete explains, Scar returns to battle once again as a Heartless. Scar's anger and jealousy were so strong they lingered after death and consumed him. During the battle Scar uses a series of swift and strong physical attacks and powerful magic against Sora and company. Sora and his friends defeat Scar again. Scar is the only character in the Kingdom Hearts universe - excluding Xehanort and Kairi - to keep his original form as a Heartless. Whether or not a Nobody will be fleshed out in Kingdom Hearts continuity is debated. By the time Sora returns to the Pride Lands to see how Simba is faring, rumors of Scar's ghost haunting the Pride Lands have driven Simba into doubt. But once he overcomes this problem, the "ghost" is revealed to be the interaction of Simba's lack of confidence and Scar's spirit. Multiple copies of Scar's "ghost" then combine to form a gigantic Heartless that is eventually killed by Simba and Sora. Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure Scar appears as the main villain of the Lion King story of Disney's Extreme Skate Adventure. He is the only one of the main Disney villains that appears on each of the levels of his story. At Pride Rock, Scar has begun causing mischief by clogging up the springs on Pride Rock, cutting off the Prideland's water supply. After un-clogging the springs, the skater (either Simba, Nala, Timon, Pumbbaa, Rafiki, or a custom skater) must grind a log holding back a huge boulder. Once this is completed, the rolling boulder chases Scar right out of the Pride Lands. At the Elephant Graveyard, Scar returns to test the skater once more by scattering the letters of S-K-A-T-E around the Elephant graveyard. Upon completion of this goal, Scar mocks you and leaves the Elephant Graveyard. The final showdown with Scar occurs at the gorge where the wildebeests stampeded (known as Scar's Canyon in the game). After Nala revives an old, dried out watering hole, Scar makes his presence known once more. The skater must then grind away several boulders in order to scare away Scar's hyenas guards. Once this is accomplished, Scar is left open. Thinking quickly Scar challenges Simba (the player has no choice in the character for this goal) to a race for control of the Pride Lands. Scar is fast, but Simba's skating abilities are faster and Simba is named the true king of the Pride Lands. Defeated, Scar runs away and never returns. House of Mouse Scar were featured in several episodes of House of Mouse, and were part of the Disney villains featured in Mickey's House of Villains. Scar appeared in the song It's Our House Now! Appearance Scar is elegant and poised, but unkempt and wild-looking. He is perhaps the most evidently feline lion in the film, lithe and melanistic in appearence with a sleek, black mane, dusty brown fur and distinctive, almond-shaped green eyes. He has large, white paws with long, curving black claws that unlike those of other lions in the film are always bared and never retracted, perhaps alluding to his vicious nature. Scar also sports a white goatee beard, characteristic of villains, particularly the evil twin archetype which is fitting given his relationship with Mufasa. Finally Scar has a thin, red gash over his left eye, earning him his name. Personality Scar was known to be resentful of Mufasa and Simba because Simba's birth ruined any chance of him becoming king. His resentment and anger towards Mufasa was strong enough that, after he usurped Mufasa's place on the throne by murdering him, he outlawed Mufasa's name being uttered, especially not in a favorable light. He also seemed to possess somewhat of an inferiority complex, which presumably also acted as another reason for his resentment for Mufasa, as evidenced by his sad resignation to the fact that he was passed over in the gene pool regarding brute strength. He also prides himself on his intellect, and was also somewhat of a narcissist, the latter trait being especially prevalent when plotting for the murder of Mufasa after the hyenas failed attempt at murdering Simba at the Elephant Graveyard where he mentions that when he becomes king, they'll "see him for the wonder that he is." He seems to have some odd quirks that he is also aware of, as, when Simba states in response to Scar's sarcastic reply of his being a "Monkey's Uncle" regarding what Scar will be when Simba's king. Scar tells Simba that "Simba has no idea." Scar at one point mentioned having a bad back, although given that he said it to Simba after the latter's statement that he'll rule Pride Rock, he was likely being sarcastic. After taking over Pride Rock, Scar's overall demeanor took a turn for the worse, becoming somewhat deluded in believing that he is still an efficient ruler despite evidence to the contrary, apparently being unwilling to admit even to himself that Mufasa was a better king then him. He seemed to also develop serious paranoia after Simba returned regarding what Simba was going to do with him, as he tried to attack Simba after Simba repeated the same words Scar told him when Simba planned to exile Scar for murdering Mufasa due to fear that Simba would pull a similar stunt that Scar himself pulled on Simba after he said those words. In addition, when Simba first revealed himself upon his return to Pride Rock before Scar realized it was Simba, Scar backed away while in disbelief that Mufasa survived, implying some guilt or at the very least fear of his role in Mufasa's death. Regarding his treatment of Shenzi, Banzai, and Ed, he was somewhat harsh with them, as evidenced by his berating them regarding their failure to kill Simba, and his angrily throwing them out after they made the mistake of mentioning Mufasa. Despite this, however, he seemed to value them as friends, as evidenced by his remark when he finds the Hyenas waiting for them before he realized they intended to kill him for his remarks, as well as his attempts at apologizing to them on deaf ears when he realized too late. In addition, he also got a few ideas (with the hyenas either knowingly supplying them or otherwise) regarding how to become king from them. Scar was intolerant of failure, berating the hyenas for their failure to kill Simba, and angrily throwing them out after they made the mistake of mentioning his brother, Mufasa, of whom Scar was extremely jealous. Nevertheless, Scar was very charismatic, able to rally the hyenas to his cause and inspire fanatical loyalty from Zira and her Pride of lionesses, to the point that they revered him as a god after his death. Scar was also highly intelligent, able to manipulate conversations and situations to his advantage with relative ease. He also proved to be extremely sadistic, convincing his own nephew, Simba, that he was responsible for the death of his father, Mufasa and later going on to taunt him that in fact, he himself was responsible for Mufasa's death. In the musical, Scar's personality and time as king are expanded upon. He is shown as longing for a queen to share his rule with to ensure that his family line continues for generations. In the musical he tries to seduce Nala, but was rejected. In The Lion King Two, it's revealed or at least very strongly implied that he adopted Zira's son Kovu as his heir. Soon, Scar began having delusions of Mufasa's ghost strongly implied that he felt remorse for murdering Mufasa deep down, which was also implied (although to a far lesser degree) in the final film when Simba reveals himself ("Mufasa...? No, you're dead..."). Interestingly during the song "Be Prepared", Scar leaps off a high cliff, and upon landing causes the ground to crack apart as well as the various pieces to rise with him and the Hyenas on it (and one of the hyenas falling through the cracks), hinting that he either possessed Terrakinetic abilities or had an uncanny ability to predict the precise moment portions of the ground (such as that at the Elephant Graveyard) would change drastically. Critics have also noted allegorical resemblances between Scar and Nazi dictator, Adolf Hitler which are particularly apparent during the Be Prepared musical number. Even the hyenas walk like the Nazi army. Trivia *While Jeremy Irons voices Scar for most of the movie, he blew out his voice recording "Be Prepared" (specifically the line "You won't get a sniff without me!"), and the rest of the song is sung by Jim Cummings. Ironically, "Be Prepared" is also where Ed (also voiced by Jim Cummings) has his only line that is not laughter. *Scar is very similar to fellow villain Shere Khan both are big cats, both talk with an English accent, they have the same goal of killing the film's main protagonists (for Shere Khan, Mowgli, for Scar, Simba) and both of their defeats results in falling. The main differences are that Scar is a Lion and Khan is a Bengal Tiger, and when Scar falls, he is killed by the hyenas, and when Khan falls, he survives and is trapped in a giant statue in the shape of a tiger's head. *Scar is also similar to Ronno, both are the only deepest color in lion/deer group, same senses that fighting their enemy (for Ronno, Bambi, for Scar, Simba) , then falls a great distance. Also both have a strong heart of jealousy, Scar is jealous that his nephew Simba can be king of pride rock but he can't, however Ronno is jealous that his rival Bambi falls in love with Faline but he fails. *Scar is very similar to Prince John from Robin Hood being that during his reign, Scar becomes angered when his brother's name is mentioned. Similarly, their final battles with their respective enemy also involved fire caused via unnatural methods, they are both lions, and they both have older brothers who are kings *In an original draft for the ending of The Lion King, Scar was to be shown burned alive when Simba hurls him off the ledge, with Scar laughing as he did so (presumably due to completely losing his sanity over losing everything), which also results in Pride Rock's destruction. Although it was ultimately cut, Simba's Pride nonetheless implied that fire was partially involved in Scar's death. *The Nostalgia Critic listed Scar as Number 9 on his "Top 11 Disney Villains" list while his song "Be Prepared" was listed as Number 3 on his "Top 11 Villain Songs" list. This song, along with another from the list, was brought up again when it was mentioned that Jim Cummings was singing the song though mentioned that Jeremy Irons sang most of the song. His female counterpart, The Nostalgia Chick, listed Scar as Number 8 on her "Top 10 Evil Nostalgia Characters" list. *In the 1997 Disney film Hercules, Scar makes a brief cameo appearance in the scene where Hercules is posing for the painting wearing the skin of what's supposed to be the Nemean Lion, but is actually Scar. *During the song "Be Prepared", Scar leaps off a high cliff, and upon landing causes the ground to crack apart as well as the various pieces to rise with him and the Hyenas on it (and one of the hyenas falling through the cracks), hinting that he either possessed Terrakinetic abilities or had an uncanny ability to predict the precise moment portions of the ground (such as that at the Elephant Graveyard) would change drastically. *Scar is the first Disney villain to be biologically related to one of the main protagonists in the Disney canon. The previous villains such as the Queen and Lady Tremaine were related to the main protagonists only by marriage, and although Ursula was intended to be Ariel's aunt, the concepts relating to it were cut, and it is now only considered semi-canon. *Originally, Scar was going to send adult Nala away from Pride Rock because she ignored his romantic approaches, after which she finds Simba alive and well with Timon and Pumbaa. This idea was ultimately abandoned, as sexual harassment was considered improper in a family movie. However, the stage musical adaptation includes this plot development as part of director Julie Taymor's efforts to expand the female characters' presence in the story. This deleted scene can be seen in the Blu Ray's special features. *The same scene, The Madness of King Scar, also gave further credence that he held remorse for murdering Mufasa, where he was often haunted by his ghost a'la Macbeth, something that was subtly implied in the final film itself when Scar initially mistook Simba for Mufasa and backed away in disbelief. *Originally, Scar would chase Simba out of the Pridelands himself. *Originally, Scar would have been a rogue lion who was not related to Mufasa. *The final version of Scar's death (being killed by the Hyenas in revenge for pinning the blame of Mufasa's murder on them) was based on an original draft for Gaston's demise in Beauty and the Beast, in which the Wolves would have attacked him after surviving the fall from Beast's castle with a broken leg. *Scar is also similar to Hades. Both are the brother of the hero's father, both try to kill the main character, both try to take over their home *Scar's death is perhaps one of the most graphic Disney deaths ever, even with the flames obscuring the screen as the hyenas tear him apart. Gallery Scar4.jpg|Scar was enraged with the thunderbolt. Scar_4.gif|Scar in the clipart See Also *Kron *Jafar *Lady Tremaine *Ronno *Hades *Nemean Lion *Shere Khan *Scroop *Prince John *King Leonidas *Claude Frollo *Horned King *Doctor Facilier *Sabor *Nuka *Zira *Vitani Category:Heroes turned to the dark side Category:Animals Category:Villains who aren't revealed to be evil at first Category:Bosses Category:Dead Category:Probably Deceased villains Category:Deceased Actors Category:Falling villains Category:The Lion King Villains Category:Lions Category:Ghosts Category:Evil rulers